What Matters Most: A Nantucket Love Story

From the front cover, I was actually expecting a nice fluffy 'beach read', but this novel actually covers some quite serious topics including grief after death of a spouse (a soldier), PTSD, challenges in marriage and forgiveness. I enjoyed seeing Emma and Jamie's sweet love story develop, as they each learned to look with hope to the future. The one thing that spoilt my enjoyment a little was that the entire plot is based on the fact that Emma and Jamie are not being fully truthful with each other - I was on tenderhooks the whole time, waiting for the inevitable fall out that would come once the truth was revealed.

It's obvious from the first chapter that Jamie has some kind of secret involving Cam, Emma's dead husband. He doesn't mention it immediately (and in his defence, it's not his fault Emma jumped to 100% the wrong conclusion when she saw him). And I can understand why he didn't tell her - there was no right time. But the bigger the secret and the longer it's kept, the harder it is to reveal the truth . . . and that's a big part of the tension in the story. It was done well, but the lying by omission still bugged me. \\n\\nEmma also has a secret. It's hinted at in the book description but we're a long way through the novel before it's mentioned, let alone revealed. In many ways, her secret is worse than Jamie's, even if the results weren't as catastrophic. In that, it kind of explains why she took so long to get over Cam's death. \\n\\nEmma and Jamie each had their own internal journey to go through, and they both needed to forgive themselves sufficiently before they would even be in the right mental place to consider asking God's forgiveness. So while What Matters Most isn't overt in its presentation of Christianity, faith and forgiveness are definitely the underlying themes. In that, it's a compelling story with a lot of kisses in the meantime. \\n\\nRecommended for fans of contemporary Christian romance from authors like Kara Isaac, Carolyn Miller, and Becky Wade. \\n\\nThanks to Tyndale and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

Apparently, What Matters Most is part of a series by Courtney Walsh, but it seemed to stand very well alone. Set in beautiful Nantucket, it's the story of Emma and Jamie. Both carry secrets and the huge burden of pain, grief, guilt and loss. The strength each shows just to face each day is astounding. I love the way the characters develop as the story continues. Like peeling an onion, the layers come off, sometimes with tears, and we get to really know these characters deeply, flaws and all. Their relationships shape them and their wounds shape their relationships, and I just couldn't stop reading to ensure the new friends I'd become so invested in came out healed and strong and whole. The resolution was satisfying, and I'm looking forward to another visit to Nantucket with Courtney Walsh as my host.